


Monsters & Mana...and maybe a little making out?

by earlgreyteawrites



Category: Voltron - Fandom, klance - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, KEITH FIC, M/M, Monsters and Mana, Vld keith - Freeform, keith kogane - Freeform, klance, klance fic, klance fluff, klangst, lance fic, lance mcclain - Freeform, lance serrano - Freeform, vld keith fic, vld klance - Freeform, vld klance fic, vld lance fic, vld monsters and mana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-07 16:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16857649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgreyteawrites/pseuds/earlgreyteawrites
Summary: Coran goes a little overboard with the whole Monsters and Mana narration. Not to mention revealed a little too much in the plot. Boy is Keith in trouble now.





	Monsters & Mana...and maybe a little making out?

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    Pike sat quietly at the table of the inn, sipping a much earned jug of root beer. The noise was a little bit aggravating at the moment considering the fact that, number one, he just got a concussion, number two, he had wolf ears on his head, so, it would basically be loud for anyone with them. He just hoped Thunder would be back soon with the rest of the food. The crowd was kind of tough, there were a lot of heros that were hungry for anything they could get their hands on. At this rate, they might run out before Thunder even so much as got a chance to reach the counter.

    Pike groaned, setting his root beer to the side. This might be a long night. At least he had managed to grab a room key before the crowd stumbled in. They mostly consisted of a large band of rescuers called ‘The Sherra’, essentially a come and go police squad that you could pay to do just about anything as long as it wasn’t, you know, bad. And that was great and all, but boy were they rowdy drunks.

    “Hey! Pike! I’m going to the room!” Thunder waved through the crowd, his voice barely able to get to his friend’s ears. Pike sighed. He’d better have gotten food.

    Pike slunk up the stairs, searching for the room. He looked at the key again. Oh yeah, three. He sighed, fitting the key into the lock. Thunder apparently had one too, because a heavenly smell was wafting from the room.

    Thunder smirked triumphantly on the bed, holding a piece of the most gigantic turkey Pike had ever seen.

     “Oh man.” he sighed, the smell making his mouth water. But just as he reached to take a piece, Thunder snapped his fingers, bringing the attention back to him.

    “Hey, remember the deal.” Thunder tutted, looking down at the root beer in Pike’s hands. Oh. Right.

    “Fiiine.” Pike drawled. He handed the jug to Thunder with a frown, but turned back to the turkey leg, slicing off a generous helping with his claws. He had missed food more than anything. After practically starving for the past few days, nearly dying several times and getting a concussion, Pike was more than ready for a good meal.

    “Does this have alcohol in it?” Thunder asked, swirling the drink he’d poured for himself.

    “Nah, I checked first and I don’t feel tipsy.” Pike replied, already digging his fangs into the much needed meal. There was a moment of silence as they ate together, Pike shifting onto the bed. It was comfortable and soft. After a long day of fighting, stealing and general craziness, he was ready for a break like this.

    The turkey was gone in a matter of minutes.

    “…Hey, ah, let me see your head.” Thunder mumbled, drying his hands off in the bathroom.

    “I’m fine.” Pike sighed, waving his hand as he placed the last bone of the turkey on the platter.

    “Let me see it.” Thunder tried again. He was being more persistent than usual, which annoyed Pike, but at least he knew he was going to be healed. After all, Thunder was a sorcerer, he could heal anyone if he wanted to.

    Pike plopped himself down on the bed.

    “I swear to god if you kiss me-”

    “Pike, you know that’s how this works.”

    “Yeah but it’s gross! If you were a cute girl then maybe, but-”

    “Just shut up, I hate this as much as you do.” Thunder sighed, taking both of Pike’s cheeks in his fingers. Thunder could feel his head pulsing. Sound was probably especially aggravating at the moment for him. He felt bad for Pike, after all it was kind to his fault. He’d caused the rock slide that knocked out that demon, but in turn it had severely hurt his comrade. Ever since the others had completed their journeys…it was kind of just them. The mage would’ve been able to heal Pike right then and there when it happened, Thunder couldn’t. That was the thing about his healing magic, Thunder had to touch the person. More specifically, especially for head injuries, he had to kiss them where it hurt.

    Thunder sighed, letting magic pulse through his fingers. The place was right behind his eyes. After all, Pike had been konked in the face with that thing, his lip was still cut. Hopefully this would heal that little slice as well. But if it didn’t…maybe Thunder would have an excuse for maybe just a small peck on the lips.

    Thunder leaned down, pressing a soft kiss between Pike’s eyes. I was gentle, almost loving, but Thunder knew he had to be careful. This was to heal Pike, not his aching heart. Sadly, it lasted only seconds by the time the deed had been done. Thunder pulled back, releasing Pike and almost automatically feeling awkward.

    “Thanks.” Pike sighed, touching his forehead for a moment, like he was making sure it had worked. Thunder felt his cheeks flush, deciding it was time to turn away before anything disastrous happened. They’d had a crazy week, fighting demons, starvation, getting beat up by a bunch of rowdy drunks and then the concussion. Thunder just wanted a day off, a whole day to do nothing but relax, preferably with Pike. But love and drama wasn’t supposed to get in the way of that.

    “I’m gonna hit the hay, I’m tired.” Thunder yawned, collapsing on the mattress and closing his eyes. Immediately Pike began to sputter.

    “Hey! _I_ was supposed to get the bed tonight!”

    “Well who was the one that saved our butts today?” Thunder asked. He loved winning battles, that usually meant he got the bed.

    “Yeah but who got the concussion?!”

    “And who just healed it?” Thunder wanted to laugh as Pike grumbled, crossing his arms and making a really ticked off face.

    “My back still hurts from sleeping in that hay wagon.”

    “Mine does too Pike, I want the bed.”

    “Yeah, but…but…” Pike sputtered. He tried a moment longer, but then realized there wasn’t a point. He definitely wasn’t going to win the argument verbally. Thunder wasn’t great with people and communicating feelings, but he was great at slick comebacks. So Pike went for the next option. “Well, I’m sleeping here too.” he grumbled, grabbing the blanket and letting his face smack into the second pillow. Thunder hadn’t been expecting that.

    “Just saying, the bed is for one person.”

    “Well too bad.”

    “It’s inevitable one of us is going to end up on the floor.” Thunder shrugged, closing his eyes again. Pike bared his teeth, even though he knew his so called friend couldn’t see it. Normally he would’ve given up by now, but…you know what, he had a long day and the bed was so, so soft and comfy. He wasn’t about to leave this just yet. “…So, sharing the bed then?” Thunder asked, raising a brow, “That’s pretty gay.” Pike ignored him, tossing to the other side.

    “Oh shut up.” but as Pike turned around, he realized his mistake. He’d moved just off the blankets enough that Thunder could take all of them. And just as expected, Thunder did. He laughed as Pike screeched, fighting to get the stupid thing back. “Evil! You are pure evil!”

    “You’re fault for letting your guard down.” Thunder snickered as Pike fought gallantly for the white sheets. “You’re a thief, aren’t you supposed to steal things, like this blanket?”

    “Uhm, _no_. I’m a _ninja assassin_ Mr.Thunderstorm Darkness.”

    “Hey, it’s not my fault my name sounds so much cooler than yours.”

    “You name sounds like something a demon would chose.” Pike laughed, letting go of the blanket.

    “Well, to be fair, I was raised by demons.”

    “Oh shut up.” Pike rolled his eyes, flopping on his back. He stared quietly at the ceiling. It was dark inside now that he had extinguished the lamp, not to mention cold. He shivered, but…Thunder was half human. His body was vulnerable to the cold, far more than his own. Pike could be cold for tonight…that was okay.

    Pike closed his eyes, finally ready to go to sleep when he was suddenly enveloped in warmth.

    “I was just joking you know.” Thunder mumbled softy. “It’s snowing outside, I wouldn’t let you freeze like that.” Pike felt himself smile. Aw…that was…exceptionally sweet of him. Also totally out of character for him to say.

    “Thanks.” Pike replied softly, turning around. Thunder looked at him, his eyes glowing a soft purple in the dark like they always did. “…This is really gay though.” Thunder snorted at that.

    “Not unless the feet touch.” that sent them both into a spiral of quiet giggles. They laughed together for a while, unable to hold it in. It wasn’t like anybody was stopping them anyways.

    “You’re so dumb.”

    “Yeah, because I like to make you laugh.” Thunder laughed, sighing softly as he calmed down. Pike felt his cheeks heat, which he hoped Thunder couldn’t see with his luminescent eyes. He didn’t seem to notice, smiling softly in his direction. “…Are you warmer?”

    “Kinda, it’s really cold.” Pike sighed, shivering a little.

    “Here, just get a little closer, the more body heat the better.” Thunder mumbled, scooching over towards Pike. Pike felt his cheeks heating up even more. At this rate he wouldn’t need a blanket anymore.

    Thunder sighed softly. There was only a couple inches between their faces. Their bodies weren’t touching, but the area under the blanket had gotten significantly warmer than before.

    “Does this feel any better?” Thunder asked softly. He liked the way Pike’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment before he answered.

    “Y-yeah.” he stuttered. This amused Thunder. Whenever he walked up to girls, he was so confident, so sure of himself. But sitting here in the dark, he was a little flustered mess, stuttering over his words, face red. And although Thunder loved this…he still wasn’t sure. Pike could just be feeling awkward about sharing a bed with him, after all, they were both guys and that was a little weird for someone who was almost definitely straight. Thunder shouldn’t get his hopes up.

    His face must’ve fallen, because Pike suddenly shot a small look of concern his way.

    “…You, uhm, you okay?” he mumbled.

    “Yeah, totally.” Thunder mumbled, turning his back towards his friend. It was better not to tempt himself.

    Thunder had liked Pike since the moment they defeated a dragon together. They were sweaty, singed, hurt. Pike had been crying, but out of relief and had ran right to Thunder, no one else in the group, just him. They hugged and cried together for a solid five minutes. A solid five minutes had been enough for Thunder to realise…he had the worst crush he could imagine on the guy, and there was no fixing it. And boy had he tried. He tried ignoring him, he tried talking to him less…but that inevitably ended up in fighting and crying and drama so, he abandoned the idea years ago. But somehow becoming friends had made it so much worse. The other morning, he’d gotten up at the crack of dawn and went to a lady who claimed one of her potions could rid him of his undying love for the thief…but it was a scam and he ended up throwing up until Pike woke up.

    At this point, Thunder felt he was in too deep. There was no way out now. He was in love…and there was nothing he could do. What made it worse was…Pike was his best friend now. And if Pike left, which was likely if he confessed his feelings, he honestly didn’t know what he’d do.

    “Why are you making that face?” Pike mumbled, concern in his voice. It was only then that Thunder realised he was on the verge of tears.

    “Sorry, sorry, just thinking.” he mumbled quickly, turning his back to his friend. Pike’s concern immediately flared. Thunder had looked like he was going to cry, why all of a sudden had he gotten that expression.

    “…Okay?” Pike mumbled, unsatisfied with the answer, but…he could tell Thunder really didn’t want to talk about it.

    Pike kept his eyes on his friend’s back. It was scarred from all of the fights, but the one right down his spine, Pike remembered, held his worst memory. They had been in a weird cave to get some cash, and suddenly this random witch came and cast a spell where he could see the past of whatever he touched. His finger ended up landing on the small of Thunder’s back.

    He was raised by demons, it was no question they beat him, but it still made Pike shudder. He’d watched it all unfold for a good five minutes, watching his friend as a child crumple to the ground and cry his eyes out, in pain and alone.

    Out of impulse, he reached out and traced his finger along the scar. It was slightly punched in his skin, making it un-obvious unless you actually touched it. Thunder shuddered under his fingers, but said nothing. Pike knew his fingers were cold, but Thunder wasn’t stopping him. He let his fingers gently slide down until it reached the end at Thunder’s waist.

    Pike stared at Thunder for a moment. Why was he suddenly so upset? They had just been laughing. Had Pike down something wrong? He felt the need to at the very least comfort him since he knew Thunder didn’t want to talk at the moment.

    Pike slid his hands around Thunder’s waist, listening to his friend’s breath hitch as he got closer.

    “…Hey, uhm…I know you’re sad, but, I’m here okay? We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but we can hug if it makes you feel better?”

    Thunder paused. He didn’t know what to do. He had just bottled this up for such a long time…but he was so scared of losing Pike…

    “You have to promise me something.” Thunder mumbled. “…If I tell you this I mean.”

    “Okay.” Pike mumbled softly.

    “…Do you promise you’ll be my friend…forever?” Pike felt his cheeks flush, then he began to laugh at the utter ridiculousness of the question. “A-are you making fun of me?!” Thunder stuttered, already feeling frantic. Pike laughed a moment longer, giving Thunder a little squeeze around the waist.

    “I’m sorry.” he chuckled, “…But it was kind of funny that you asked. Of _course_ I’ll always be your friend. We’ve been through everything together man…there’s no reason why I would leave, even if something bad happened.” Pike pressed himself close to Thunder, letting his chest squeeze against his friend’s back. Thunder drew a sharp breath, trying to gather the courage.

    “…Would we still be friends…if I was in love with you?” he finally managed to ask. He felt his heart beating madly in his chest, the urge to vomit getting stronger with every second. Oh god.

    The silence between them felt deafening. Thunder started to shake. There was no way to escape, Pike had a tight grip on him. He thought about teleporting, but then remembered, Pike was still attached, he would just take the problem with him. He couldn’t run away from his problems like he wished he could. It was all invitable. He had said it…the deed was done. Now he was going to pay for it.

    “…Oh.” Pike finally said. Thunder felt a horrible pang in his chest. This felt worse than when they were about to die just a few days ago. He wanted to scream, maybe even cry. “Oh, so, you…” Thunder swallowed thickly, trying to get himself together.

    “Yeah.” he barely managed.

    “…Wow, okay…I…oh my gosh.” Pike seemed to have lost his breath. Thunder felt his heart breaking as his friend’s arms left his waist. Pike shuffled sitting up. He was breathing kind of heavy, like he was hardly able to believe what Thunder had just said. “Just…let me get this straight…or…well, not straight, but. You’re gay for me?!” Thunder felt tears building in his eyes.

    “Yeah, I…I’m so sorr-”

    “Oh thank god.” Pike sighed, relieved. “One second, I think I’m gonna throw up.” before Thunder could try to say anything else, Pike stuck his head out the window and retched.

    “W-wait?! Are you okay?!” Thunder scrambled out of bed, hastily rushing to Pike’s side. Pike kind of laughed, but vomited before he could say anything. He coughed for a moment, trying to get all of the stuff out of his mouth. “D-did I freak you out? I-I’m so sorry, I never should’ve told you-”

    “No, no…it’s okay.” Pike laughed a little bit, though he still looked green in the face. He stumbled a little bit, leaning out the window and throwing up again. To his delight, his dinner got thrown in the face of one of the drunk police crew members.

    A couple more minutes of throwing up later, Pike was finally able to calm himself. Thunder was shaking at this point, holding up Pike who was shaking equally as bad.

    “S-sorry. I just…” Pike mumbled, “I’m not freaked out or anything, that just gave me a lot of butterflies.” he sighed as Thunder helped him sit on the bed. “Sorry, you’re probably really freaked out right now, aren’t you?” Thunder nodded quietly. “…It’s okay. Especially cause…I sort of really like you too.” Pike mumbled, looking up at him with his big, blue eyes. Thunder’s heart stopped for a moment.

    They stared at one another for a long time, both of their faces slowly getting redder and redder as the seconds ticked on. Neither of them could really believe what was happening.

    “So…we like each other?” Thunder finally mumbled. Pike nodded quietly, feeling his cheeks flush a horrible red. “…How long?”

    “About a year.”

    “Two years.” Thunder confessed with a shrug.

    “Oh my gosh! How did you live?!” Pike exclaimed like he could hardly believe it. Thunder could hardly believe it too. If he had just managed to tell him sooner, he wouldn’t have gone through all of this pain.

    “…Well, I dunno…” Thunder shrugged, still feeling embarrassed.

    “You’ve been in love with me for this long and you didn’t tell me?!” Pike screeched.  Thunder ducked his head. He didn’t have to emphasize it like that.

    Pike seemed to realise he was starting to make Thunder really uncomfortable and stopped. Now it was quiet again, but Thunder seemed relieved. Pike didn’t blame him, he kind of needed a moment to breathe too. Especially considering that when he thought about it, he felt really stupid. All of those little glances, the occasional accidental handle holding, their petty little fights that made them seem like an old married couple. It had been so _obvious_ but he hadn’t noticed it until Thunder had finally said something.

    “…Can we hold hands?” Pike mumbled, looking down at their hands. Their pinkies were touching just slightly. Thunder blushed deeply, nodding in a kind of dumb, but cute way. Pike allowed their fingers to intertwine, both of them taking in a quick breath as they locked together.

    “This is nice.” Thunder squeaked. He was a complete flustered mess, unsure what to do or how to react. All this time he had held everything he wanted inside of him. How much he wanted to hold hands, to touch Pike’s cute little wolf ears, to pepper his face with gentle kisses. The thought that he was allowed to have it had been so out of reach for so long that he was almost incapable of believing it.     “…Can I…can I…” Thunder mumbled, but he couldn’t get it out. Just saying the words made him increasingly nervous.

    Before Thunder could try again, he found Pike shuffling so that they were sitting in the middle of the bed. All of a sudden, he was pulled down. Next thing he knew, he was overtop of Pike. Pike smiled softly, he looked so in love…in love with Thunder. Him. And only him.

    Thunder couldn’t help himself. He purred loudly, reaching a hand up and stroking Pike’s ears. He giggled, Thunder knew it tickled him, but they were just so soft.

    “Pfft, Thunder!” Pike laughed underneath him. “That tickles!” Thunder’s heart did a somersault. He rubbed his ears a little bit longer, drawing more giggles until he found himself simply enjoying the face of his companion. “…How did you know…that you were in love with me?” Pike asked softly, finally recovered from his fit of giggles.

    “…You know when we defeated that dragon, when we still had the rest of the team?”

    “Mhm.”

    “Well…when you ran over to me, I just sort of….knew.” Thunder mumbled, a little embarrassed. “What about you?”

    “A year ago when we went to that little marketplace and I got lost and had that huge panic attack. You calmed me down and I just thought that you were the one.” he mumbled. Then, to Thunder’s surprise, Pike reached up, cupping his cheek inside of his hand. He ran his thumb gently across Thunder’s lips. Thunder felt himself blushing madly. Pike laughed a little bit nervously. “…I really want to kiss you right now.”

    “Me too.” Thunder barely managed to mumbled.

    There was silence for a moment while both of their breaths hitched. It was a little bit awkward of a position of a first kiss, seeing as Thunder was lying on top of Pike, both of their legs sprawled out in opposite directions. But neither of them wanted it any other way.

    “This will be my first kiss.” Thunder mumbled as he leaned in just a little bit closer. His heart was beating rapidly, the butterflies in his stomach swarming.

    “…Mine too.” Pike breathed back.

    “You know this means our first kiss will be in a dirty inn after you threw up onto a drunk guy.” Pike immediately laughed at that.

    “That’ll be a story to tell.”

    “Our grandchildren are already rolling their eyes.” Thunder chuckled, but paused. One more centimeter. Pike had already closed his eyes.

    “…Shut up and kiss me.” he mumbled.

    And so Thunder did.

    Thunder pushed his lips carefully against Pike’s. Their noses bumped at first, making it hard, but Thunder managed to realise that he could tilt his head. It was a little sloppy, seeing as neither of them knew what to do. Thunder breathed into Pike’s mouth, which was a little gross but Pike didn’t seem to mind. Pike wasn’t sure whether he should open his mouth or not, french kissing seemed a little…weird…to him. So they kind of just smushed their faces together. Their cheeks touched, their lips got a little wet with saliva and it was just a little bit gross in general…

    It was the best kiss they’d ever had.

    When they pulled back they immediately started laughing.

    “That was so gross!” Pike practically screeched, nearly crying with laughter. Thunder giggled, both happy and also a little bit grossed out by how bad they were at kissing. But regardless, it was still the best he’d ever had (even though he had nothing else to judge it by).

    “Yeah.” he laughed. “…But I loved it.”

    “Me too.” Pike replied softly. Thunder rolled off of Pike, pulling the blankets back over them. They stared at each other for a moment, simply enjoying the way the other looked as they snuggled close in the sheets, wrapping their arms around each other.

    “…Kiss me again?” Thunder asked quietly. Pike blushed, but happily obliged.

    “Of course.” he smiled, pressing their lips together for a couple seconds. Needless to say, it was much less sloppy this time.

    When they pulled back this time, each of their hands lingered on the others cheek. And in that moment, they realised how lucky they were to have each other.

    “So…does that mean we’re dating?”

    “I’d like that.” Pike said softly, pressing their foreheads together.

    “Do you think….we’ll ever get married?” Thunder asked cautiously.

    “Absolutely. And adopt seven kids.”

    “Seven?!” Pike laughed.

    “The more the merrier.” Pike pecked a kiss to Thunder’s nose, holding him close, “…And a dog, I want a dog.”

    “And a cat.” Thunder added.

    “Okay.” Pike laughed as Thunder kissed his ear.

     They laughed a moment longer before they fell quiet, tiredness sapping them of their energy. They looked at each other a moment longer, saying soft I love you’s before falling asleep, their dreams all of the future they would have together.

 

 

    “WHAT THE HECK CORAN?!” Lance screamed across the game across the table inside the atlas. Everyone was holding back laughs or smiles. Everyone except for Lance and Keith who had gone redder than Hunk’s tomato sauce. Coran shrugged innocently.

    “You rolled charm.”

    “CHARM FOR HIM TO GIVE ME THE BED CORAN!!! I WANTED THE BED, NOT THUNDER!!!” Lance screamed at the top of his lungs. Pidge wheezed in the corner, Hunk having to hold her up before she fell to the floor.

    Keith said nothing, completely frozen where he stood. The orange tablet he was holding in his hands was shaking madly. He’d read the whole thing, which was a mistake. The sound of Lance screaming was fuzzed out by his pure humiliation. Why would Coran write something like that? And have _everyone_ read it?!

    Sure, everyone knew his feelings for Lance (apart from Lance of course), when he’d confessed at the dinner table that he was gay and had an enormous crush on Lance (while Lance wasn’t present in the room), but…he never expected Coran to do something like this with that information. He almost felt betrayed.

    Keith set down the tablet with a loud ‘clack!’. He felt tears building in his eyes. This wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. He knew everyone was laughing because of Lance’s reaction, not because of the story…but it felt like everyone was making fun of him. Making fun of him for his crush…making fun of him for being gay.

    Before anyone could stop him he let out a sob and bolted out of his seat, running for the hall. It was the only safe place he could think of at the moment. He sprinted to the nearest corner, plopping himself down in it. His eyes burned and warm liquid began to pool down his cheeks. Little sobs started leaving his throat. He couldn’t stop crying. He felt betrayed.

    At least the atlas was empty today. After all, there was no reason for people to be here other than them after the huge battle for earth. They had it to themselves again, like they used to with the castle. This was supposed to be fun. All of them together, laughing and playing Coran’s ridiculous game. Instead he felt worse than ever.

    He knew Coran probably meant well, he’d noticed the team’s efforts to try and pair them together recently (such as lots of missions with each other), but this had gone too far. Way too far. To the point where it wasn’t okay. But Coran had talked about them like he thought they were dating a million times, he probably had no idea nad thought that this story would just maybe make them a little but flustered and be for a good laugh. It wasn’t necessarily his fault since nobody corrected him, but it didn’t make the situation any better.

 

    The door on the other end of the hall opened. Lance burst through, searching frantically for Keith. His voice was hoarse from screeching at Coran and everyone else for laughing. However, he’d stopped screaming the moment Keith slammed his tablet to the table, tears gathering in his eyes. Nobody thought it was funny after Keith sobbed, running out of the room.

    Lance listened carefully, eventually picking up the sound of Keith crying. He ran towards it, weaving in and out of the hallways of the atlas until he found Keith curled up in a corner, all by himself. His eyes were red and puffy, his nose leaking as tears fell down all over his face. He sobbed softly, looking humiliated.

    “…Hey.” Lance mumbled. Keith looked up at him, tears sliding down his neck. His whole body was shaking and he was practically hyperventilating. “I’m really sorry Coran did that. It wasn’t okay.” Lance slid down next to the black paladin, wrapping his arms around him. Keith choked, coughing and crying at the same time as he wrapped his arms back around Lance. He kind of needed some comfort after that.

    Lance sighed, gathering Keith into his lap. The butterflies in his stomach flared up, but he didn’t let that get in the way of what needed to be done.

    “This was all my fault. I’m sorry.” Lance mumbled, looking extremely guilty. “I’m so sorry.”

    “You _wrote that_?” Keith sobbed, looking at him like he felt betrayed.

    “No! No…” Lance corrected quickly, but still felt guilty. He’d told the others a long time ago how he’d felt about Keith. After that, he’d noticed that they had been trying to get the two of them together. This…this was too far. And it was kind of his fault since he had told them all.

   Lance moved so that he could stroke Keith’s hair. The boy in his arms continued to sob, unable to contain himself. Now wasn’t the time for a confession. He would explain when Keith was calm. But he still felt at fault.

    “…That really wasn’t cool, you have every right to be upset.” Lance mumbled, trying his best to calm down Keith. “But…we’re alone now. When I left everyone looked like they felt bad.” This was the first time he’d ever seen him cry, so he wasn’t really sure if he needed to do something or say something or whatever it was Keith needed when he was upset. When it came to Keith, he wasn’t very open with his feelings most of the time. He kept thoughts to himself. And the fact that he had started to cry in front of the whole team and was crying right now in his arms, it proved how much he’d been hurt by the situation. Lance wanted to make it better, even if it was a hard task. It wasn’t fair what they’d done to either of them. And if Keith wasn’t in need of comfort, Lance probably would’ve cried too. He felt exposed. Coran had betrayed his trust (though he was sure Coran had good intentions), and Keith just seemed humiliated and he probably felt a little betrayed too. He must’ve thought they were making fun of him for being gay. When he had told Lance he was gay, he’d mentioned things about the past with bullies. Lance figured this was _not_ helping his self esteem.

    Keith finally calmed down, though it took a good ten minutes of sobbing. Tears had dried all over his face and neck. His nose was still dripped mucus everywhere and his face was so red Lance could’ve mistaken the color for a sunburn instead of a blush. He breathed heavily, reaching up to wipe his puffy eyes. Lance figured, based on the amount of time he had been crying, that he had a lot he needed to get out of his system. Compared to the things they had all gone through, that little story hadn’t been much, but Lance was sure it had tipped Keith over the edge a little bit too much.

    “…Sorry.” Keith sighed, “Sorry, I just…I’ve been overwhelmed for a while and that kind of just…did it.” Keith breathed shakily for a moment, his fingers loosely gripping the back of Lance’s shirt. He buried his head into Lance’s chest, holding him tight and closely as possible.

    “No, you have every right to be upset. Seriously in _six years_ we’ve been doing this, this is the first time I’ve actually seen you cry.” Lance mumbled, “And that was totally unacceptable. Coran shouldn’t have done that, it wasn’t okay. Seriously, I’m honestly really upset too.” Keith shuffled a little bit, keeping himself close to Lance. He probably didn’t want Lance to look at his face right now, which made perfect sense. He was kind of a mess, and even though Lance didn’t mind, he obviously didn’t feel like showing it.

    “…Coran…was just trying to help.” Keith mumbled, taking Lance by surprise. What the heck did he mean by tha- “….He wants us to get together, as a couple I mean.” Keith started shaking in Lance’s arms. He was terrified, but he had to say it. It was so obvious what Coran had done, and as hard as it would be for Keith to talk about it, as hard as it would be to admit his secret…this needed to stop.

    If this happened again he was going to lose it, and not only that, but he would likely either be crying in Lance’s arms again or get mad at someone who didn’t deserve his anger. If he didn’t nip it in the bud…Keith didn’t know what would happen later.

    Lance was blushing nervously at this point. Had it really been that obvious? Keith managed to force himself to look up at the red paladin. Lance was flustered and also kind of shaky, laughing nervously,

    “Erm, why would he want to do that?” he asked. It was clear he felt awkward. Keith didn’t blame him. He’d said it so bluntly. _Too_ bluntly considering how awkward of a subject it was. Keith forced himself to breathe. Don’t cry.

    He readied himself for the rejection, carefully making a plan. Maybe after this he could go to Shiro and cry for a little bit more, because he knew there was no way this was going to end well, but…he really needed to get this out. It hadn’t been two years, like it had been for Thunder. Instead it had been a couple months, seven to be exact. This wasn’t going to be happy and perfect. It wasn’t going to be cheery and soft. It wouldn’t be like Coran’s story, because that was out of the question. This was real life…not some fantasy game. He knew the rejection was going to sting, and for Keith rejection was one of the hardest things for him to handle…but…hopefully they could still be friends.

    “…Coran did it, because…” Keith couldn’t go on for a second, it felt like there was a golf ball wedged down his throat. He swallowed thickly.

    “ _I like you_.”

    Keith felt himself shaking. The hardest part was over now.

    “I told the team a while ago I had a crush on you and ever since then…they’ve been trying to get us together. I’m sorry for this. I’m sorry I made you feel awkward and I wish I could change my feelings but it doesn’t work like that. You don’t have to let me down because I know you like Allura already and it’s going to take me a little while to move on, but…I’ll be okay. I just hope we can still be friends.” Keith stood up, brushing himself off. It was exceptionally hard, but he was managing not to cry. He made sure there were no obvious signs of being upset before sighing, beginning to walk away. The faster he got to Shiro the faster he could cry again.

    But he was stopped before he got out of range.

    “Wait!” Lance cried out, grabbing Keith’s arm and holding it tightly. Keith fought down everything telling him to be childish and run away. He forced himself to keep a straight face, turning around to meet Lance’s gaze. He looked panicked.

    Lance gulped, looking Keith in the eyes.

    “You…have a crush on me?” he asked. Why did he have to torture him like this?

    “Yes.” Keith barely managed. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

    “You’re serious, you’re not kidding?” …was he making fun of him? Keith gritted his teeth together, hissing out the answer.

    “ _Yes_.”

    Lance paused, hardly able to believe what was happening. He felt his entire body go limp, his jaw dropping for a second as his grip slipped from Keith’s arm. Butterflies swarmed in his stomach. He felt sick, but, kind of in a good way. Lance didn’t expect this at all. Of course, that made it incredibly hard to control himself.

    “Do you want to kiss me, a-and stuff like that?” he stuttered, happiness wiping away his awareness of the fact that Keith was about to explode with anger.

    “…Yes.” Keith mumbled through his gritted teeth. “Lance this _isn’t funny_.”

    “No, I just…you really do, you really like me?” Keith gulped, nodding. Lance felt like he was going to explode. “This isn’t a joke?”

    “Why would I joke about this?!” Keith blinked back tears, “I’m being serious-“

    “You really are?”

    “Lance just stop it!” Keith yelled. It was too late. The tears had come back, “You don’t have to be a jerk about it!” Lance immediately stopped, all his happy thoughts cutting off. Oh crap. He’d made Keith cry. He’d made him cry. Now that he thought about what he was saying, it really sounded like he had been making fun of Keith.

    “Keith, I-”

    “Would you like it if I was doing this to you?!”

    “N-no.” Lance gulped. Now he felt horrible, but he didn’t know what to say. He was completely in the dark about how to fix his mistake. “I just, I-”

    “You _what_?!” Keith demanded. He looked miserable, tears tracking down his reddened cheeks, eyes puffy, nose runny. Lance wanted so badly to try and fix this, but the butterflies in his stomach were making it impossible to just say it. And even if he could speak, he wasn’t sure what he’d say. He’d unintentionally hurt Keith trying to be sure that what he was saying was true, and the way he had tried to make sure hadn’t been a good method. He’d just been so excited that Keith liked him…he wanted to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Obviously that hadn’t worked. Lance tossed the option of talking to Keith to the side. After all, he’d probably end up hurting Keith even more.

    But there was one thing he could do. One sure fire way to get the point across. And Lance at the moment felt so eager, like a puppy getting ready to play with its favorite toy. He wasn’t sure if Keith would like this, and if he didn’t he would stop right away and apologize, but…he just wanted Keith to understand. And hopefully, he could do that without making him more upset or uncomfortable.

    Lance hesitated a moment, looking at Keith. His face was still just as handsome with tears and snot running down his reddened features. He shakily brought his hands up, cupping his cheeks. Keith paused. He looked up at Lance, the anger fleeing from his eyes. His eyes became confused, soft, but…so innocent and beautiful. Lance relished it.

    And Lance kissed him.

    At first Keith stiffened and Lance kind of panicked, but not even a second after he became tense, he relaxed into the kiss. It was a little wetter than he expected, considering Keith had been crying, but it was okay.

    Keith cried softly against Lance’s lips, but it was mostly because he was so relieved, not necessarily upset. He felt Lance’s hands gently wiping at the ongoing flow of tears. It made him feel so much better than he expected.

    “It’s okay.” Lance mumbled softly against his lips, “It’s okay sweetheart.” Keith relaxed a little bit more, sighing softly as Lance pulled his face just a little bit closer. He could feel Lance’s nose pressing gently into his cheek.

    It was a little embarrassing if Keith were to be completely honest. He felt so vulnerable and exposed like this, but it was in a good way. Kissing like this made his stomach swirl with excitement, everything in him tugging for him to be just a little bit closer.

    Keith let himself make little happy noises as Lance gently pressed them closer. He giggled, which was kind of ridiculous. He even moved his hand so that he could run his fingers through Lance’s soft hair. Keith wanted to mess up his perfect hair, he wanted to fluff it out and completely destroy it.

    So he did. And Lance laughed against him, sliding his hands up into Keith’s hair as well. Lance backed them against the wall of the hallway, gently starting to move his lips against Keith’s. This felt a little bit different, but nice. No way was Keith going to french kiss, the thought of that made him uncomfortable, but Lance thankfully seemed to understand that. He kept his mouth closed, gently pushing his lips against Keith’s just a little bit longer.

    And after what only felt like seconds to the two of them (which in reality was minutes), they broke apart, holding each other and breathing softly. Lance’s jacket was dangling at his elbows and Keith’s shirt collar had slipped over his left shoulder. They were both red in the cheeks and Keith’s tears were smeared across both of their faces. But they felt amazing.

    No words needed to be said as they stared at each other a little bit longer, both thinking the same thing.

    Coran’s little story of their characters wasn’t such a bad thing…considering it ended up like this.

    “So…I’m guessing this means you like me back?” Keith asked, slightly nervous. Lance’s face exploded with pink as he smiled nervously, hands lingering in Keith’s hair.

    “…Maybe just a little.” they both started giggling at that, looking down at themselves. They looked so ridiculous. Hair messed up, shirts rumpled and hanging over shoulders. But honestly, it felt nice. Their hands were warm, still lingering on each other in a gentle way. There was nothing intimidating about it, nothing uncomfortable about it.

    Sure, they were both a little bit flustered, but they were happy. And yes, they knew that they were probably going to have a ‘what are we’ talk and maybe even fight a little bit, even after this. It wasn’t going to be perfect, it wasn’t going to be Disney…but, knowing that they liked each other was the best thing either of them could’ve asked for. And even though this day had been crazy and messed up, at least they were together. Coran was definitely going to get his but kicked soon, but for now, they could relax, enjoy each other’s company…

    …And maybe kiss a few more times.


End file.
